


Not Like Some Visual Novel

by stephanericher



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: First Dates, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-13
Updated: 2015-08-13
Packaged: 2018-04-14 13:06:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4565733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stephanericher/pseuds/stephanericher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>for a prompt on tumblr. Despite his brother's misgivings, Miyaji's first date goes very well, thanks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Like Some Visual Novel

“You’re going on a date to the aquarium.”

“Yes,” says Miyaji, and he considers punching the sneer off his brother’s face before remembering his mother’s rule about hitting at the breakfast table.

“That’s, like…something middle-schoolers do. Aren’t you in college?”

Miyaji rolls his eyes. “Like you’re the leading expert on date locations or anything. When was the last time you went out with anybody?”

Yuuya buries his face in the newspaper; Miyaji smirks.

“Anyway, I didn’t pick it. He did; it wasn’t my first choice. But if things get awkward we can look at the fish or something.”

Yuuya snorts, and to hell with his mom’s rules. Miyaji reaches over and smacks him.

* * *

 

Imayoshi’s waiting for him at the entrance; he’s already bought the tickets and Miyaji already feels a little bit awkward, as if he owes more than just the small price of admission. He rubs his neck and thanks Imayoshi and that grin of his gets a little bit wider and fuller as he leads Miyaji through the doors and into the aquarium.

It takes a few seconds for Miyaji’s eyes to adjust to the darkness; he squints for a little while at the murky light filtering in from all sides. The walls are lined with tanks like something out of an eerie sci-fi movie when the heroes are trying to make their way to the center of the villain’s lair to take them out, but they don’t know that the villain is letting them come and playing with them to amuse themself. But Miyaji’s not scared—as if. There are no villains here, only fish and people—and Imayoshi. Whose fingers are brushing Miyaji’s hands (Miyaji looks down to make sure, and even in the light wavering with the surface of the water Imayoshi’s kunckles are clearly touching his, undoubtedly on purpose).

“I’ve never, uh, been to an aquarium before,” Miyaji says.

It’s awkward, hollow, coming out like distorted audio from an electronic speaker because someone left the settings in all the wrong places, and Miyaji barely doesn’t flinch. Imayoshi makes no admission of sensing anything strange, merely nodding in response.

“So I reckon you don’t know that much about fish?”

Miyaji’s about to retort—but honestly, it’s very fair, considering that if he was interested in fish and wanted to learn about them he probably would come and see them in person, at least once. He’s never even had a pet fish, even as a birthday party prize or something.

“Are you, uh…knowledgeable?”

Imayoshi chuckles. “I’d say I am a little bit. My parents always had a pond full in our backyard, and I went fishing a lot as a kid, so I can tell you all about how to reel them in.”

His voice is smooth like ice on a picturesque pond in winter; Miyaji resists the urge to shiver—he’s no coward. Especially about things like this.

“But that’s not important,” says Imayoshi. “I mean, I do know about the care and keeping of fish…and I’ve always kind of admired how pretty the tropical fish are.”

He points to the tanks on the far wall; the fish there are brightly-colored enough to be kind of garish, but they actually are kind of cool. And this time, when Imayoshi’s hand brushes Miyaji’s, Miyaji brushes Imayoshi’s right back. And when Imayoshi moves to take his hand, Miyaji doesn’t reject it. It’s a little bit sly in the dark like this, where no one can see—but it’s not the worst beginning.

* * *

 

It occurs to Miyaji as they’re eating lunch that they haven’t talked about basketball or video games all day—and he doesn’t particularly want to change the subject away from fish. Even though he’d never really bothered to look into it before, it’s kind of fascinating to observe the differences in habits and needs that particular fish, even similar ones, have evolved. And seeing Imayoshi talk about it, well—he doesn’t seem like a completely different person. But this is why Miyaji agreed to go on the date with him in the first place, the way he gets animated when he’s talking about something he’s really interested in and really knows about. It’s a little bit show-offy, but it never gets into the realm of Imayoshi bragging about how much more he knows than Miyaji, but more than that Imayoshi seems to lose the creepy vibe he normally gives off and seems almost down-to-earth, not as if he’s a supercomputer calculating all the available paths in front of him.

He’s grinning, but it’s relaxed and not the wicked kind of fake-relaxed Miyaji’s used to seeing, and maybe it’s a bit of a perceptive shift (especially since this is the first time ever he’s seeing Miyaji outside of a basketball court without any of his other basketball friends around). But it’s also a tone shift; he can feel himself relaxing around Imayoshi and he’s even convinced himself it’s not really a terrible idea to be doing it. And okay, he kind of does like Imayoshi—not in the heart-poundingly simple way visual novel heroines fall in love within a day, but there’s definitely something there. And it’s nice to be around Imayoshi, even as their conversation flatlines and they sit in the aquarium café with empty plates in front of them. Even the way Miyaji’s studying him, tilted head resting on bony fist, has its appeals—and no, Miyaji totally doesn’t feel like reaching over and pushing Imayoshi’s glasses up his nose for him. That would be taking it too far.

(But when they go back inside later and Imayoshi kisses him, Miyaji finds it neither unexpected nor complaint-worthy.)

* * *

 

“How was your little aquarium date?” says Yuuya, raising his eyebrow.

Miyaji decides to live and let live—decking his brother would be more trouble than it’s worth, not to mention that it wouldn’t be particularly satisfying at this point. After all, this date has given him all the satisfaction he needs at the moment.

“For your information, it went wonderfully,” he says. “We’re going back next week.”


End file.
